“After President Obama calls Kamala Harris the ‘best looking attorney general’, when can you compliment a woman’s looks?” read the headline on a piece by Washington Post blogger Alexandra Petri. The article quickly drew several dozen reader comments.

Harris considers Obama a friend, and they have campaigned for each other in previous elections. Some pundits have described Harris as a “female Obama” because of her stage presence and because she, like the president, is of mixed race.

She recently appeared on several Washington talk shows commenting on the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriages. Harris opposes the proposition.